Objective To study the epidemiological characteristics of respiratory adenovirus (ADV) infections in children from the Suzhou area, China. Methods The clinical data of ADV-positive children out of 35 529 children with respiratory tract infections who were hospitalized in the Children's Hospital of Soochow University between January 2006 and December 2015 were retrospectively studied. Results Of the 35 529 children with respiratory tract infections, 440 (1.24%) were ADV-positive. There was no significant difference in the rate of ADV infections between boys and girls (1.18% vs 1.34%). The ADV infection rates of children at the age of < 1 year old, 1-3 years old, 3-7 years old and 7-14 years old were 0.39% (71/18 002), 1.12% (103/9 191), 3.14% (201/6 398), and 3.35% (65/1 938) respectively and the rate increased with age (P < 0.01). The ADV infection rates in spring[1.85% (60/8 658)] and summer[2.20% (189/8 606)] were significantly higher than in autumn[0.30% (27/8 952)] and winter[0.69% (64/9 313)] (P < 0.01). Conclusions The ADV infection rate is increased with age in the children from the Suzhou area, but it is not associated with gender. ADV infections are more common in spring and summer.